Takeoffs and Landings by WeasleyForMe

Hermione finds out there has been an addition to the O.W.L. exams... a mandatory flying test. The only trouble is Hermione doesn't know how to fly! George agrees to give her lessons. Will she learn how to fly, or will she fall hard for George Weasley? Hermione/George

I don't own these characters... but it's fun to play with them!

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Chapter Eight

George found Hermione in the common room. "I have the best idea, Hermione. You can practice indoors in the Room of Requirement."

"That's a fantastic idea, George!" Hermione exclaimed as she jumped out of her chair to give him a hug. A second later she pulled back with a guilty look on her face.

"Meet me there in an hour," he whispered as she returned to her seat.

George spent the next hour thinking about Hermione. George loved the feeling of holding her. Ever since their first lesson when she had fallen from the broom, he'd been thinking about her soft curves and how sweet she smelled. Fred was right. He did fancy Hermione. But how was he going to tell her this?

Hermione found that she couldn't concentrate on her work. She was too excited that she would be able to practice indoors. She only had a few short days left. Then she reflected on how far she'd come with her lessons. George had been wonderful, not to mention sweet and adorable. He had managed to make her less afraid of heights, and she wasn't too bad at flying…maybe one day she's actually be good. He'd spent so much time helping her when Harry and Ron wouldn't. What was she going to do when these lessons were over?

Hermione met George outside of the Room of Requirement after dinner. They paced back and forth in front of the wall and imagined a room in which Hermione could practice. A door appeared and they entered an enormous room with a high ceiling. An obstacle course similar to the one George had created took up most of the room.

"Hey, this is pretty sweet!" George said as he inspected the room and handed his broom to Hermione.

"I'm so happy you thought of this, because I was beginning to get frantic over not having enough practice time. I've really got to focus on getting under five minutes," she told George.

"Just remember to stay low to the broom. Now get up there and show me what you got," he told her with a wink.

"Ok, but don't be too shocked if I'm amazing," Hermione replied with a wink of her own as she kicked off.

"She really will be the death of me," George whispered out loud as he started the stopwatch.

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Hermione's practice on Wednesday went very well in the Room of Requirement. She found it was much easier to practice inside where there was no additional wind. She flew the course numerous times, until well past curfew. Angelina made sure to mention their late night as soon as she saw Hermione.

They returned on Thursday afternoon and were both surprised to find that Hermione's times were getting better and better. She was nearly down to five minutes.

By the time Friday evening came, Hermione was quite nervous. Her flying exam was in the morning, and the rest of her O.W.L.s would begin the following Monday. She was flying through the course while George timed her. She was determined to get one time under five minutes. Finally as she was finishing the course going as quickly as she could, George jumped up and yelled, "You did it! Under five minutes! You had fifteen seconds to spare!"

Hermione landed and jumped from the broom into George's arms.

"Yes! Finally!" she sighed happily.

George just held onto his precious Hermione and whispered, "I knew you could do it. You're going to ace this exam along with the other seven you're taking."

Hermione slipped out of his arms and smiled up at him. "Why are you being so sweet to me?" she asked in a quiet voice.

He mumbled, "Because you deserve it." Then he couldn't stand it anymore. He leaned down and kissed her lips. He pulled her closer and started to wrap his arms around her waist.

Hermione was shocked. "Oh, Merlin!" she gasped as she backed away.

George immediately dropped his hands to his sides, and his face looked completely guilty. "Oh, shit, I'm really sorry Hermione… I just got carried away," George said as he backed up slowly, his shoulders slumped dejectedly.

Hermione's brain was screaming at her, "He was kissing you! George kissed you!!! Why did you scare him away?! Get back over there!" Hermione finally came to her senses, took four steps toward George and pulled him down into another kiss.

Now it was George's turn to be shocked. Hermione's fingers tangled in his hair and trailed down the back of his neck. She had her entire body pressed against his. She sighed against his lips, and George's brain stopped working altogether. All he could comprehend was her curly hair twisted around his hands and that everything smelled like vanilla. He started nibbling on Hermione's lips then trailed kisses down her neck.

"What are we doing?" she suddenly whispered.

George's brain, still too numb to communicate properly, knew exactly what they were doing, but he wasn't certain of the consequences of making out with her.

He mumbled, "I believe we are snogging, Hermione," as he pulled his lips away from her neck and looked into her eyes. "That's generally what two people do when they like one another."

She giggled. "Well, obviously. But why are you snogging me? I don't get it. You… well, you're great," she said uncertainly. "But I'm too bookish for you. I probably bore you to tears while I talk too much about school."

George just shook his head. "Fred was right. I must really like you, because I actually enjoy talking to you. Except, right now I don't really feel like talking. Can we snog some more, please?"

Hermione threw her head back and laughed while she wrapped her arms around George's neck once more. She looked into George's eyes and said, "Only for a few minutes. It's after curfew already, and my test is very early in the morning."

"Well then, we'd better stop now, or else I'll keep you here all night. There will be plenty of time to snog after you pass your test," he said as he scooped up his broom. "Here, take my Cleansweep to your room with you, so you can use it for your test."

"Are you sure? I think they supply a broom for you if you don't own one," she told him.

"Take it, you'll be more comfortable on this one," he said as he handed it to her and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Now get back to the tower and get some sleep. But don't forget… you owe me more kisses tomorrow."

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Yay! Aren't they sweet??! I hope you liked this chapter... I had to post it, because everyone was so well behaved! Please review if you like it. There is only one more chapter left! Thanks for reading!